His rude company turned and stamped farther into the house. Similar in age and with a healthy build like Edward’s, he was as well dressed. Possibly another lawyer friend—or enemy. We followed Edward into the kitchen, where we’d had difficulties with the existing brick floor. We had remedied the situation by filling in the brick and using a gray stain and glossy finish to disguise any problems. The new small black geometric print on one wall accentuated the seamless white kitchen.
I’d hoped Carl would leave when we entered so we could get to speak with Edward about our mother wanting to marry; he had been the person to tell us about it, and we had rushed out to Mom immediately afterward. But farther inside, I could see Carl pacing the great room. He stomped from the brick fireplace to the stairwell with the newly installed custom iron stair rail and back again.
Chest heaving, Edward glanced back at him and then at us. “What do you need?”
To know more about our mother’s interest in marriage and the man she’d supposedly marry. You mentioned it to us in the first place, I wanted to blurt. But my gaze shifted from one man to the other. Things pertinent in Edward’s mind right now had nothing to do with our parent. Carl didn’t appear to be leaving soon.
“We’d like to check on the game room.” Eve came up with an excuse faster than I could. “The new floors were supposed to be put down in there yesterday.”
“It’s good. The room’s good, now go.”
I felt he hadn’t even looked into his game room and wasn’t concerned with it now. We moved away from the front door he shut behind us. No curtains hung on any of the newly designed windows, and if we peeked back in, we probably would have seen the pair about to resume their argument.
“Not much learned there,” I said as we got into my truck.
“Nothing that concerns us. And we can’t go back to the retirement home today, or Mom might tell us off.”
What a horrible thought. I let out a sigh. “Let’s go back tomorrow.”
“Agreed. So we need to figure out how we can keep her from making a horrible mistake. Take me home. I’ll try to come up with ideas.”
I brought Eve to her place where she would change clothes. She’d go and workout at her favorite gym to clear her mind and try to get answers and then go home and into her art room to paint. Her paintings weren’t good enough to show anywhere, but while creating the colorful hearts and flowers, excellent ideas often came to her.
After I dropped her off, I fast-dialed Dave Price, the man my twin and I both had feelings for.
“Hi, Sunny.” His cheerful voice instantly lifted my mood. “What’re you doing?”
“Hoping you’re at your camp, and I can teach you a thing or two about catching fish.”
“Then you’re in luck.”
“You are at the camp?”
“Yes, come on over. I’ll have a rod and reel ready for you.”
I headed out of the neighborhood. Like with many other towns down here, I was soon riding beside a slow-moving ribbon of fresh water called a bayou. My aim this time was to Bayou Boogie Woogie, which didn’t take long, especially since there wasn’t much traffic. I hoped I could get rid of concerning thoughts about Mom that kept clouding my mind.
Dave’s camp sat almost at the farthest end of the slim road with not even a gravel path on the opposite side of the waterway. In my sour mood, I needed respite. I opened my windows. The unique smell of the bayou water and dried seafood peelings washed in, immediately making my tight cheeks relax. Shrimp boats moored with their trawls lifted like giant butterfly wings paused in mid-flight. Their knotted ropes held dried bits of crabs and shrimp with a sprinkling of fish that left an enticing taste on the back of my tongue. A snowy egret dipped and road a long current of air above the water. Small houses and camps spread farther apart until I arrived at Dave’s with my spirit already refreshed.
The sight of his midnight blue truck sitting in his dirt driveway brought a smile to my face. He wasn’t from around here and owned a nice house in town but had wanted a camp. He hired Eve and me to help him fix up this old one a bit. One of the first things we did was add a wharf. When Eve wasn’t around, I helped him buy the right fishing gear and promised I’d teach him to use it.
Eve had been through three amicable divorces with men who still treated her like a goddess. My sole marriage had been to a man who made me dread intimacy. I had married him because low self-esteem from being dyslexic made me believe I couldn’t do better. I never thought I would be interested in a man again. But then came Dave. Eve had me pretend to be her to check him out when his company installed the alarm system in her house. She had decided he was the reason God made the universe. He was her soulmate, she had sworn to me, and not being shy around men, had come on strong toward him. Which turned him off, he’d let me know later once he admitted an attraction to me but not her.
She had been wanting so badly for me to find true love. But she would not be pleased for me to find it with him.
Dave and I had been on a few dinner dates out of town, and sometimes the three of us ate together, all acting like close friends. Dave and I had been getting closer. He’d urged me to let Eve know about our relationship so we could be more open about it. I promised I would soon. But our older sister was killed beside me when I was a child, which made it urgent that I protect this one. That horrible experience also caused me to blurt or hum Christmas carols when I felt terrified and helpless, a trait I had been struggling to get rid of for years.
Dave stepped out of his carport that was still filled with boxes, a wide smile across his handsome face. His eyes were like hot chocolate on a chilly day. In jeans and a T-shirt that said Gone Fishing across his wide chest, he held his arms apart, a fishing rod in each hand. “Take your pick.”
“You know which one.” I gave him a quick kiss on the lips and took the lighter rod.
“I have our chairs set up.” He waved me toward the yard on the side of the rustic building. When I sped ahead of him toward the back and onto the wharf, he said, “You sounded like you needed some comforting.”
“This is perfect.” I took the folding chair a couple of feet to the right of his, since I cast right-handed and he casts left.
He grabbed a small round container from under his chair, lifted its white top, and revealed black dirt. “Have one.”
I shoved my fingers into the loose muck and felt around. My fingers touched a fat piece of slime. “Got it.” With that, I pulled up a large worm.
“You had the first choice, so if I catch the most fish, remember I gave you a chance.” We shared a smile and he stuck his long fingers in the loose dirt and withdrew a skinny one.
Content to be beside him instead of where trouble had greeted me, I gave the white skirt on my hook a little shake and then added my wiggly worm. Dave struggled a little, needing more time to get his bait where it needed to be. I gave my line little jerks. Moments later, he did the same.
A gentle breeze touched my skin. I peered over the peaceful water and heard a seagull cry. Seeing Dave’s line go out made me check my small resting cork. Like it, I relaxed. “How’s your day been?” I asked.
“Pretty good. We finished a big job. The boat you helped me buy is getting its final touches. And now I’m here with you.”
The intensity of his smile and our pleasant situation made me believe it was okay to consider my most troubling one. I watched the swirl beyond my cork. A slap on the water meant a fish—probably a mullet—jumped. Mullet was good to eat but they didn’t usually bite on a hook. I glanced farther out, thinking I might see a gator. None were in sight, but that didn’t mean none were near. What might mimic a floating log could be the snout and eyes of one. It was still exciting to pick one out.
“My mom wants to get married